1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a package of the tamper-indicating type, that is, to a package that includes a container and a closure affixed to such container, the closure being subject to structural alteration upon its first removal from the container to provide a visually detectable sign that the package has been opened. Packages of the aforesaid type are widely used in the packaging of comestible products such as food products, beverage products, and medications to provide an indication to the consumer, upon the first opening of the package, of possible prior tampering with the package or with its contents.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various container/closure packages are known in the prior art which subject the closure to structural alteration upon the first removal of the closure from the associated container to provide a visual indication that the package has been subjected to a previous opening attempt, and to thereby alert a consumer to possible prior tampering with the package or its contents upon the first opening of the package by such consumer. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,844 (Lininger), which is assigned to the assignee of this application, discloses a tamper-indicating package that utilizes a molded plastic closure with a marginal tear-off band which is attached to a main skirt portion of the closure by several frangible bridges, and which is subject to disengagement from the main skirt portion of the closure by the fracturing of the frangible bridges, upon the first removal of the closure from the container. The disengagement of the tear-off band from the main skirt portion of the closure of the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,844 results from interference between a plurality of wedged-shaped tabs attached to the tear-off band which engage the underside of a bead on the outside of the container finish to prevent the removal of the tear-off band upon the unscrewing of the closure from the container finish. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,506,795 (Herr), 4,478,343 (Ostrowsky), and 4,402,218 (Ostrowsky) disclose similar types of tamper-indicating container/closure packages.
Tamper-indicating container/closure packages which require the complete removal of a marginal band portion of the closure of any such package require close manufacturing tolerances with respect to the dimensions of the closure and container, they require fairly high application torques to force the tamper band over the container finish bead, torques which sometimes lead to broken bridges between the closure and the associated tamper-indicating band, and require high torques to remove the closure from the container, which can be a problem in the packaging of any type of comestible consumer product, and can be a particular problem in the packing of various type of medications, since many of the patients who take such medications are elderly and suffer from reduced hand grip strength or function or otherwise suffer from impaired hand function.